Ben Rhodes

Charles Dharapak / AP

Rhodes grew up in New York City and moved to Washington in 2002, eventually taking a job writing speeches for Barack Obama, then a freshman Senator. Now, as Obama's principal communications aide on national security, he reads the top-secret President's Daily Brief, advises the President on key decisions and runs meetings with advisers much older than he is. "It was awkward for the first few weeks," says Rhodes, 32, "but you get used to it."

If you weren't working in politics, what would you be doing?
I'd probably be living in New York trying to write novels but making a
living off of non-fiction.

What's the most overlooked issue facing America these days?
We need a broad and sustainable consensus about the politics of national
security and America's role in the world, which we have not had in the 21st
century

Where do you see yourself professionally in five years?
Transitioning out of the second Obama Administration to live in
California (per my wife), trying to write novels but making a living off of
non-fiction.